Member Article

International companies can now breathe a sigh of relief following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Serco – v- Lawson which considered the vexed issue of whether Employment Tribunals can hear claims of unfair dismissal notwithstanding the fact that the employee might not work in Great Britain. Section 196 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 used to prevent employees ordinarily working outside Great Britain from complaining of unfair dismissal to an Employment Tribunal. That section was repealed in October 1999, partly to meet requirements of European legislation, namely the Posting of Workers Directive which allows an employee temporarily posted to work in another EU country to enforce domestic statutory rights such as unfair dismissal. However, the repeal of that section also led to employees working elsewhere in the world bringing claims against their employer simply because the employer was based in Great Britain. This was particularly the case where employees were located in jurisdictions which had weaker or non-existent employment protection rights. Until this decision the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) had suggested differing tests as to determining whether or not an employee could bring a claim against a Company based here. These included a relatively restricted view, namely that the employment must have a “sufficient” or “substantial connection” with the UK and the more lenient test favoured by the EAT in Lawson itself which merely suggested that a claim could be brought against an employer who simply resides or carries on business in England and Wales. Thankfully, the position is now clearer. Both of the previous tests have been rejected and the key issue is whether the employment is in Great Britain itself. Kevin McCavish, head of Shoosmiths’ Thames Valley Employment Team comments: “This is a welcome decision for international companies in particular as it significantly reduces their exposure to claims of unfair dismissal from employees working abroad. Employees will no longer be able to cherry pick the particular jurisdiction that affords them the greatest protection.” For further information, please contact: Karen Carter, Shoosmiths Telephone: 08700 864086 [email protected] Shoosmiths produce a monthly UK E-mployment briefing. To subscribe to these briefings click on the link below to register. http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/About/236.asp